There was a knock at the door. "Minister, I've brought the Goblin."
Fudge hurriedly straightened the collar he had just tugged out of place. He still had to maintain his dignity in front of outsiders.
After clearing his throat, Fudge said, "Come in."
Fudge's assistant entered with a bald Goblin. His skin was so pale he looked ill, his sunken eye sockets held eyes that seemed soaked in blood, and his right arm was covered in red-black barbed armor.
Fudge opened his arms warmly, as though greeting an old friend he had not seen in years. "Oh, Lanlock, it's been several years since we last met, hasn't it? The last time was at Mr. Asha's home."
Lanlock was a member of the Goblin Elder Council, and Fudge knew him.
Lanlock had no intention of embracing him. He sneered. "Yes. Unfortunately, Asha will never have another chance to see you."
Fudge's eye twitched, and his smile froze. Awkwardly lowering his arms, he signaled for his assistant to leave at once.
Pretending not to notice Fudge's embarrassment, the assistant withdrew from the room and shut the door behind him.
Fudge put on an expression of deep regret and sighed. "Lanlock, I am also deeply saddened by what happened to Mr. Asha and Goblin Village. Please give the Ministry of Magic a little more time. We will definitely capture that Dark Wizard."
"I've heard words like that from more than a dozen people already. And what was the result?" Lanlock mocked. "We gave you enough time, yet you still haven't even identified who massacred our village!"
"That's because you occupied Azkaban and released the prisoners inside, leaving the Ministry of Magic run ragged! We simply had no time to investigate the Goblin Village case!" Fudge argued.
"However, we have already recaptured a group